Berkeley, California (Thursday, August 26, 2010) - The City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) will be holding a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) checkpoint on Friday, August 27, 2010 to launch their participation in the Labor Day “Avoid the 21” campaign.

The checkpoint will be held at Adeline between Harmon and Fairview Streets in South Berkeley. A team of officers will be active at the site from 8:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. This checkpoint is one of a series of DUI checkpoints BPD has held in 2010. The program has been funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

DUI checkpoints are a valuable tool in educating the community, in addition to contributing to the continued fight to reduce impaired driving and fatality collisions involving drunk drivers. Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities (fatalities in crashes involving a least one driver or motorcycle operator with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.08 or greater) decreased 9.1% from 1,132 in 2007 to 1,029 in 2008. California’s alcohol-impaired driving fatality rate dropped from 0.34 in 2007 to 0.31 in 2008.

California Statewide DUI arrests increased 5.4% from 203,866 in 2007 to 214,811 in 2008. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, this number represents the most DUI arrests since 1993.

During the checkpoint, if officers find drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, those drivers will be arrested. BPD’s goal is to continue to send a clear message to those who are considering driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and/or drugs:

Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.

BPD also urges the community to help keep our roadways safe by calling 9-1-1 or (510) 981-5911 from your cell phone to report suspected impaired drivers.